The verse ".....is my name and with my needle I wrought the same" was the inspiration for my company name.
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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Up, Up, and Away!!

On our trip I had the opportunity to do several things I never thought I would do because of my bad fear of heights. (I don't even like standing on a chair.)

One of the things that I knew we would be able to experience was a hot air balloon ride in northern Queensland. Before leaving on our trip, I Googled "fear of heights and hot air balloon rides". The search led me to several personal blogs from others who share my fear of heights after they went up in hot air balloons. Their comments were so reassuring and inspiring, so I knew I would go (even if I ended up closing my eyes once in the air).

On the morning of our great adventure, we were to meet in the hotel's lobby at 4:30am. (Yes, 4:30am!) We boarded the bus in the rain, not knowing if we would actually go up or not. The bus ride was an hour long, and as we approached the launch site, the rain stopped. We were told that the weather is often entirely different away from the beach where our hotel is located and that is why that particular launch spot is used.

Here are some photos from my our great adventure.

We saw about a hundred kangaroos on the ground below as they were coming into the open spaces in the early morning.

I loved the ride, and I'm so proud of myself for going out of my comfort zone. I think Tom is proud of me too. I don't think he ever thought I would go up in a hot air balloon.

When I told a friend that I had done this, she told me that she didn't think she could go up because of motion sickness. Believe me (as a person who is very susceptible to to motion sickness) when I tell you that you don't feel any movement. It was like you were floating in the air--well, I guess we were.

I hope that this encourages you to one day do something out of your comfort zone. You might discover something you really love! I know I did!

11 comments:

This is something I've often thought might be neat to expereince someday but like you, I've not given it any serious thought because of the motion sickness and heights. Maybe now if the opportunity presents itself I might consider it. Wow, what beautiful sights!

You were very brave Ellen, some of the things Tom did I can't believe. Climbing that bridge, swimming in that shark infested water, Egads, I probably wouldn't have even gone on the boat. sounds like you had an amazing trip of a lifetime. Cheers Mel

I love your smile in the first picture...looks kind of like, "I'm not sure how this will go, but LET'S DO THIS!!!!!" =) I'm also afraid of heights, but I was able to go zip-lining because the harness felt so secure, I knew I was not going anywhere. That made me think I might be able to do some other things that I thought would be impossible for me. It is great to find out you can do things outside of your comfort zone because success opens up all kinds of new horizons!